


La Vie en Rose

by 2amEuphoria



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: "All I've ever known is doin' it to em", Am I saying I'm applying Julien Solomita energy to Brightwell fanfics?, F/M, It's so fluffy I'm gonna explode, Well yeah I guess I am, You love fluff and so "I had to do it to em"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:35:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21529918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2amEuphoria/pseuds/2amEuphoria
Summary: “Is there a way someone in the lab can find out what size this is?”“-That’s the most romantic, cheesiest CSI thing I’ve ever heard.”One-shot, total fluff.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 11
Kudos: 106





	La Vie en Rose

**Author's Note:**

> If you follow me on Tumblr, you’d know that I planned to release two short fics before going on a brief writing hiatus. Here’s the first of them! Hope you enjoy!

They’d joked about it in passing a few times.

He’d ask her if she’d ever thought about it-just _in general_ -before. She said she did once or twice when she was a kid. Once she mentioned that her mother couldn’t wait to see the day when it happened, so Malcolm didn’t bring it up again for a long, long time. The way her face fell when she recalled that memory was enough to end the conversation about it for months.

But when those months finally came to pass, he started thinking about it again. He’d think about it when he realized she’d been staring at him from across a room, or when she assessed a crime scene and then immediately turned to look at him first, her eyes begging for an explanation. It’d cross his mind when she’d always be right there, calming him down after a night terror, rubbing his back or taking deep breaths with him until he fell back asleep. It’d be in his thoughts when he heard her singing in the shower, or when she’d remind him to take his meds, or when she’d gush over Sunshine. One lazy afternoon, she came up to him while he was reading and kissed him, “just because I missed ya.” 

And he made his mind up about it, right then and there.

_____________

He had coffee and went for a walk with Ainsley the following week to talk about it.

“Wow,” she remarked when he told her. “You’re serious about this?”

“Yeah, actually… I am.”

“Hmm, I wonder what Mom will think of this… Have you told her?”

“Nope. I want to surprise both of them. So if I find out you’ve said _anything_ Ains, to either of them-and trust me, I’ll be able to read their facial expressions-“

“Jeez, calm down you nerd. I can keep a secret. I’m not 10 anymore.” She playfully shoved him. “I know this is special.”

Just before they parted ways, she brought up something he’d never even thought of before.  
“Hold on, do you know her ring size?”

Malcolm cocked his head to the side. “That’s a _thing?”_

Ainsley groaned in response. “Yes, you idiot. You should probably figure that out ahead of time, otherwise it’s going to have to be re-sized afterwards. And that takes _weeks_ .” 

“How the hell do I find out, though?” His thoughts started to race-he knew she wore several rings, so she probably knew her size already, but he didn’t know how to figure that out without asking her up-front.

“You have a few options,” Ainsley replied, smirking. “One, you just flat-out ask her. Which would be stupid, because you and I both know she’d be three steps ahead of you. Two, you have her try a ring on-something totally harmless- and you find out that way, but you still run the risk of her being three steps ahead of you. Or three… I don’t know, you get creative. Use that Harvard-educated brain of yours.” She patted his shoulder. “Good luck. And make sure you take me with you when you finally decide to go shopping, you’ll definitely need my help!”

Malcolm rolled his eyes at her before heading back home.

_____________

“Edrisa?” He called to her from her desk, walking towards her with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “Got a second?”

“Of course!” The medical examiner sprang up from her seat, bright-eyed and excited, only to control her demeanor when she noticed he made a face and was suddenly looking around, paranoid. “I mean, yes.” She spoke in a gruffer tone. “What’s up?”

He took the gold ring out of his pocket and gently placed it on her desk.

“Oh, that’s Dan-!“ She stopped herself when he put a finger to his lips, shushing her.

“It is. She left it on the bathroom sink this morning. She’s going crazy looking for it, and doesn’t know I have it, so please don’t tell her-I’ll put it back as soon as possible. But first, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“I’m… simultaneously confused and highly interested,” she replied.

“Could someone in the crime lab be able to tell what size it is? That’s all I need to know.”

Edrisa paused for a moment before it hit her. Her lips turned upright into a devious smile, and she pointed a finger at him. “You cheeky son-of-a-gun. That’s the most romantic, cheesiest CSI thing I’ve ever heard.” Malcolm blushed.

“Well, to answer your question, yeah, probably. I’ll bring it to the lab. I can’t promise I’ll have it done by today, but soon enough-maybe by tomorrow. Does that sound good?”

“Perfect. Thank you, Edrisa. And please don’t tell Gil. Or JT. Or Dani, obviously.”

She gave him a mock salute. “Aye-aye, sir! And oh my goodness, I’m so exc-“

Malcolm put a finger to his lips again, slowly backing away. She mimicked his gesture before grabbing the ring and hurrying off to the lab.

_____________

“I knew you were going to do this, you know. I knew back when one of my other rings went missing.”

He’d experienced a wide spectrum of emotions today- a twinge of anxiety as he decided exactly when to ask her, adoration as he told her how much he loved her and told her he couldn’t picture life with anyone else (“slugging me to bed just so I can sleep at night,” he’d added, which made both of them crack up), overwhelming happiness when she’d said yes and they held each other, still shaking after he put the ring on her finger, with tears in both of their eyes.

Now he was in complete and utter disbelief. “…. _How?_ ”

She smirked and clapped his shoulder. “You’re funny. You think you’re the only one who’s really good at reading people? Nuh-uh. I can read _you,_ Malcolm Bright. When that ring went missing, two things happened. One, you were _way_ more anxious than you normally are. Your eyes were huge whenever you were near me, your palms were sweaty when you held my hand-you were generally wigging out whenever you were in my presence while my ring was missing. Two, my ring reappeared in the _same_ exact place where I thought I’d left it: right on the bathroom sink. I thought it fell down the drain, or that I left it on the bed, whatever. And while I don’t believe in ghosts, I do believe that _you_ believe you’re sneaky. But you put it back in the same spot 48 hours later?” She giggled and kissed him. “You’re cute.”

“Even after I pulled out all the stops, you still outsmarted me at my own game,” he laughed. “Guess there’s a reason why I want to keep you around after all.”

“Hmm, yeah, I wonder…”

_____________

Hours later, long after they’d gotten home, eaten, and showered together, when they were in bed and Dani’s newest ring on her left hand was the only item worn between both of them, she heard a song coming from his stereo that she hadn’t heard before. It sounded distant, as he’d set his stereo up in the living room instead of its normal spot, but she could make out what sounded like a different language.

“I haven’t heard this before,” she murmured against his chest, eyes still fixated on the diamond- _her_ diamond. Was it really on her hand? Was she really able to spend the rest of her life with him? She still couldn’t believe everything that’d transpired on this day.

“It’s called ‘La Vie en Rose,’” he replied. She giggled at his attempted French accent.

“You know I was half asleep during my French class growing up. I have no idea what that means.”

“Well, if you’d paid any attention,” he teased, his lips against her forehead, “you’d know it roughly translates to a lot of different things…”

“Oh, so even Mister ‘I was a _star_ French student’ has no idea exactly what it means-”

He rolled his eyes at her, and unbeknownst to him, she rolled _her_ eyes in response. “As I was saying, it roughly translates to a lot of different things, including ‘life in rosy hues,’ or the way you see the world when you’re in love.”

“Huh.” She glanced at the ring once more, then closed her eyes and snuggled closer against him. “Well, it’s very fitting, especially for tonight.” 

_____________

She wouldn’t realize until she woke up randomly around 2am, but after she went to sleep, he’d gotten up and made sure the song was playing on repeat.

 _Such a nerd,_ Dani thought when she’d realized what he’d done. _I’m so lucky._

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanted to listen to the song (and what it would sound like in their apartment, in my head at least), here it is:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioilVOfMm5s&t=1s
> 
> Why this? As Julien Solomita would say, “’cuz I had to do it to ‘em. All I’ve ever known is doin’ it to ‘em.” You’re welcome.


End file.
